Page 73 of The Catalyst

What the fuck did she just say?

“Yeah? All mine?”

“All yours,” she rasps. “It belongs to you.”

That’s the point where I end the call and barely manage to not crush my phone in my hand. I haven’t even been gone for two weeks. Sure, the communication has been lacking, but what the fuck? Ollie is my best friend and Beth is mine!

Period.

End of story.

No one is allowed to have a spot in her heart except for me and maybe the ex-boyfriend, Shawn, because well…he’s dead. He can’t claim her from the grave.

I’m rather attached to Ollie so I can’t just kill him to get him out the way. I’d do that if it was anyone else. It’s like she cherry picked the perfect person that I can’t dispose of.

Decisions.

Decisions.

All I know for sure is one thing. It’s time for me to go home and remind Beth who owns her, body and soul.

CHAPTER 31

OLIVER

Beth and I sneak through the side door of the house and walk through the kitchen to go to our prospective rooms, when we notice Charlie sitting on the couch. A joint is dangling from his lips as he assesses us.

When Beth notices him, she drops my hand, something he instantly picks up on.

He doesn’t say anything though. He goes back to watching whatever is on the TV screen.

Thank the Lord she thought to grab a new shirt from her house to replace the one I ripped to shreds because there would be no justifying this if he saw her the way she was before she got the new top.

Beth walks to the stairs while I make my way down the hall and to my room, closing myself in. I don’t need anyone’s bullshit right now and I don’t think my princess does either. Hopefully, she locks the door and keeps everyone out.

We’ll deal with Charlie later, but I wouldn’t put it past the fucker to call Nigel and stir the pot.

No one likes me, but we all agree that Charlie is a piece of shit that we wouldn’t include on anything if we didn’t have to. Hell, he wouldn’t even be living here if it wasn’t for this being the original Five Families house and all of us having a claim to it.

The only one who likes Charlie is Perla and only God knows why. My only guess is that he’s hidden all the disgusting parts of himself from her and she’s completely blind about who she decided to spend her life with.

Just a few more months and then he’ll be out of here and living with her. We’ll only have to deal with Charlie when we deal with those who break the rules after that.

I’m the only one who had the balls to tell him flat out that I don’t like him at all and if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll keep his distance from me. That was when we were teenagers. Maybe I need to make it clear that’s the way it still is.

* * *

I hangmy head as I sit on my bed, flipping my silver coin over my knuckles like I always do when I’m stuck inside my brain.

This coin belonged to my father, one of the few things I put my foot down about taking with me when I moved out of my mom’s house, along with the leather jacket I always wear. That was his, too. One of my fondest memories of him was of watching him spin this coin on the kitchen table, over and over. He did so mindlessly, much like the way I play with the same piece of silver.

It’s soothing and helps me focus on the chaos inside my brain, instead of the anxiety outside of it. I have the sense that something dark is coming, something not good, but I can’t place it. If I had to make an assumption, I would point my finger at my princess.

Mine.

She said she wanted to be mine, belong to me. Not Nigel.Me.

No one has ever wanted to be mine where that sentiment was returned. It took me thinking long and hard about it to determine that I felt the same way she did. I see everything cut and dry, fact versus fiction, but it’s different with her.

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